What is reaction to fire? Is it the same as resistance to fire?
Reaction to fire concerns what happens when a cable burns. Under the CPD, it is assessed on real size cable samples in terms of the amount of heat released, the spread of flames, the emission of smoke and release of flaming droplets/particles and acidity. These parameters are used to gauge to what extent the cables may contribute to the development of a fire. For cables, the Directive sets out different classes of Reaction to Fire performance in a table called “Classes of reaction-to-fire performance of electric cables” (hereafter referred to as ‘the Euroclass Table’). The Euroclass Table defines seven classes (A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and F). Heat release and flame spread together with the additional requirements regarding smoke production, flaming droplets and acidity are the classification criterion. Resistance to fire is the term used to describe how long a cable continues to operate in a fire. This may be of primary concern, for instance, in life safety installations. The Resistance-to
